Living tradition
Búzios
Brazil and Cuba; the African cowries that crossed the Atlantic.
Sixteen shells on the table of the pai or mãe de santo; the number open names the orixá who answers.
How it's done
- 01The space is cleansed with water and herbs.
- 02The shells are cast and the open ones counted.
- 03The odu and the orixá's advice are read.
With your own tools
It is a consultation with someone who has the gift and the initiation; approach with respect and a clear question.
With Ocluna
I cast the búzios for you on the white cloth: I tell you the odu, the orixá who answers and the advice, and a second throw confirms it.
Your reading
Grandmother Xóchitl does your Búzios reading
What Grandmother Xóchitl tells you
- In Bahia, búzios are cast on a table covered with a white cloth, and a closed necklace marks the circle where they fall.
- Each odu has its answering orixá; Brazilians say the búzios game is how the orixás speak on the telephone.
- The jogo de búzios uses sixteen shells of the Cypraea snail, cut at the back so they can land 'open' or 'closed'.
- It arrived in Brazil with Yoruba peoples in the 18th and 19th centuries and is practiced today in the candomblé terreiros of Salvador da Bahia.
- Each throw is counted by the number of open shells, from one to sixteen, and each number corresponds to an odu and to an orixá who speaks.
This reading is symbolic self-knowledge and entertainment content based on folk traditions. It does not predict the future, is not medical, legal or financial advice, and does not replace qualified professionals.